Natasha Lomas
Writer
The Latest from Natasha Lomas
UK’s COVID-19 health data contracts with Google and Palantir finally emerge
Contracts for a number of coronavirus data deals that the U.K. government inked in haste with U.S. tech giants, including Google and Palantir, plus a U.K.-based AI firm called Faculty, have been publi
All Facebook users can now access a tool to port data to Google Photos
Facebook’s photo transfer tool is now available globally half a year on from an initial rollout in Europe, the company said today. The data portability feature enables users of the social networ
Zoom faces criticism for denying free users e2e encryption
What price privacy? Zoom is facing a fresh security storm after CEO Eric Yuan confirmed that a plan to reboot its battered security cred by (actually) implementing end-to-end encryption does not in fa
Europe asks for views on platform governance and competition tools
The European Commission is asking for views on how online platforms should be regulated in future, launching a public consultation today on the forthcoming Digital Services Act (DSA). This pan-EU legi
Researchers find exposed data on millions of users of quiz app, TVSmiles
TVSmiles, a Berlin-based mobile native advertising app whose users earn digital currency in exchange for engaging with branded content such as quizzes, apps and videos, has suffered a data breach. Sec
Uber UK launches Work Hub for drivers to find other gig jobs during COVID-19
Uber U.K. has launched a Work Hub for drivers to view a selection of temporary work opportunities with other companies as a way to supplement pandemic-hit ride-hailing earnings during the coronavirus
Twitter screens Trump’s Minneapolis threat-tweet for glorifying violence
After applying a fact-checking label Tuesday to a misleading vote-by-mail tweet made by U.S. President Donald Trump, Twitter is on a roll and has labeled another of the president’s tweets ̵
German federal court squashes consent opt-outs for non-functional cookies
Yet another stake through the dark-patterned heart of consentless online tracking. Following a key cookie consent ruling by Europe’s top court last year, Germany’s Federal Court (BGH) has
EQT acquires freemium graphics and stock photo marketplace, Freepik
Freepik, a Malaga-Spain based website which offers a curated freemium marketplace of vector graphics and stock photos fed by a community of contributing designers and photographers, is being acquired
Greyparrot bags $2.2M seed to scale its AI for waste management
London-based Greyparrot, which uses computer vision AI to scale efficient processing of recycling, has bagged £1.825 million (~$2.2M) in seed funding, topping up the $1.2M in pre-seed funding it had
5G, AI, cybersecurity and renewable energy set for investment boost under EU coronavirus recovery plan
The European Commission is proposing to direct billions of euros of financial relief into high tech and green investments to help the bloc recover from the coronavirus crisis. Technologies such as 5G,
Babylon Health leads a $30M Series B in US health kiosk operator, Higi
UK-based AI chatbot Babylon Health — which last year raised $550M at a $2BN+ valuation — has led a $30M Series B in US-based Higi, which owns and operates 10,000+ FDA-cleared health kiosks
Scandit raises $80M as COVID-19 drives demand for contactless deliveries
Enterprise barcode scanner company Scandit has closed an $80 million Series C round, led by Silicon Valley VC firm G2VP. Atomico, GV, Kreos, NGP Capital, Salesforce Ventures and Swisscom Ventures also
First major GDPR decisions looming on Twitter and Facebook
The lead data regulator for much of big tech in Europe is moving inexorably towards issuing its first major cross-border GDPR decision — saying today it’s submitted a draft decision relate
Apple’s handling of Siri snippets back in the frame after letter of complaint to EU privacy regulators
Apple is facing fresh questions from its lead data protection regulator in Europe following a public complaint by a former contractor who revealed last year that workers doing quality grading for Siri
VergeSense grabs $9M for its people-counting sensor tech as offices eye COVID changes
Facilities management looks to be having a bit of a moment, amid the coronavirus pandemic. VergeSense, a U.S. startup that sells a “sensor as a system” platform targeted at offices —
Automattic pumps $4.6M into New Vector to help grow Matrix, an open, decentralized comms ecosystem
Automattic, the open source force behind WordPress .com, WooCommerce, Longreads, Simplenote and Tumblr, has made a $4.6M strategic investment into New Vector — the creators of an open, decentral
Europe to Facebook: Pay taxes and respect our values — or we’ll regulate
A livestreamed “debate” yesterday between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a European commissioner shaping digital policy for the internal market, Thierry Breton, sounded cordial enough on
Call for EU state aid rules to flex for startups
European startups are calling for more flexibility in EU state aid rules to allow national governments to provide liquidity for the region’s fledgling digital businesses during the COVID-19 cris
How will Europe’s coronavirus contact-tracing apps work across borders?
A major question mark attached to national coronavirus contact-tracing apps is whether they will function when citizens of one country travel to another. Or will people be asked to download and use mu